Public managers in Wales will soon be legally required to map walking and cycling routes and prioritise improvements to transform them into integrated networks.

The Welsh government – which recently published a white paper on active travel – wants local authorities to enable and encourage communities to be more active by connecting key sites, such as hospitals, schools and shopping areas, with traffic-free routes and cycle lanes.

Ministers believe this radical policy is the best way of increasing the number of people walking and cycling, in order to unlock public health and environmental benefits.

At the launch of the bill, transport minister Carl Sergeant described it as a landmark step in developing a "truly sustainable transport network".

But despite enthusiasm in Wales, councils in England have not been so keen and the Local Government Association has made it clear such a policy would be deeply unpopular. "Local authorities already do a lot to provide integrated transport systems and cycling is of course becoming a key part of that – not least in the big urban areas," said a spokesman. "Councils have identified the benefits this brings to public health and the environment. We feel that any top-down regulations would be unnecessary and burdensome."

But is 'anti-localism' really the problem? Greg Marsden, director of the Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds, believes that while mandates do work, changing the mindset of local authorities is more difficult.

"My previous research suggests that those authorities that see a good fit for cycling and walking improvements and particularly those which have a track record will, in general, capitalise on [government policies]," he said.

"Mandating action is appealing but does not fundamentally change the mind set of what is important locally. Nor does it unlock the skills to make a more radical roll out possible. A longer-term commitment to funding authorities doing the right things is likely to be more effective."

These schemes – promoted by English councils – included cycle hire schemes in Reading and Nottingham. In total, the fund has provided more than £1bn of public sector funding towards "smarter travel measures" in England.

But critics suggest this is not enough and that a proper economic case and monitoring regime is currently lacking.

In June, the government's climate adviser, the Committee on Climate Change, warned that the funding was not enough to meet the UK's legally-binding carbon targets."There is more to do on changing travel behaviour," the . "The government should clarify how it will roll out sustainable travel programmes across the country."